John Howard Jones was born on 23 February 1955 in Hythe, Hampshire, to Welsh parents. He is not, as sometimes claimed, from Southampton itself, though Hythe sits directly across Southampton Water from the city. The family soon settled in Rhiwbina, Cardiff, where Jones spent his early years, attending Heol Llanishen Fach primary school and then Whitchurch Grammar School, and began piano lessons at the age of seven. He is the eldest of four boys, and his three younger brothers all went on to become musicians too.
When Jones was nine, the family emigrated to Canada, settling in Nepean, Ontario, a suburb of Ottawa, where he joined his first band. They later returned permanently to England, and Jones went on to study at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester before leaving to pursue songwriting rather than a classical career.
Jones became one of the defining names of 1980s synth-pop, breaking through in 1983 with the single 'New Song' and following it with a run of hits including 'What Is Love?', 'Like to Get to Know You Well' and 'Things Can Only Get Better'. His debut album, Human's Lib (1984), reached number one in the UK, and he performed at Live Aid at Wembley Stadium in 1985. He has continued recording and touring since, including a 2009 tour that took in a show at St David's Hall in Cardiff with the Morriston Orpheus Choir — a rare full-circle return to the city where he grew up.